


So It Was You

by icameheretowinry



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-04 22:24:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12177696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icameheretowinry/pseuds/icameheretowinry
Summary: This one-shot featuring young!Royai is based on a dialogue prompt I received on Tumblr where I had to use the phrase, "So, it was you?" It's set shortly after Berthold Hawkeye's death. I hope you enjoy!





	So It Was You

Riza hissed as the paper wrappings in the box resting on the bed in front of her bit into her skin. As she pursed her lips against her injured finger, an ugly metallic taste blossomed on her tongue. For days, the sole sounds emitting from Berthold Hawkeye's study were the rustling of paper and the dull thud of boxes as his daughter ripped apart, and attempted to stitch together the mystery of his life. Most of what she discovered meant little to her; piles of dusty alchemic tomes, stacks of yellowing notes bound together with cord and left in dark corners to multiply, and much to her disgust, a pile of dirty dishes encrusted with the moldy remains of dinners past taken alone. Riza sighed as she neared the bottom of the box who's contents painfully resembled those that came before it. 

A small flame of curiosity suddenly flickered inside her as a thin, painstakingly wrapped object dropped from between the pages of a stack of moth-eaten notes as she lifted it out of its cardboard tomb. With the help of a rust-speckled letter opener, she managed to ensheath the object from its wrappings. 

Riza cradled the small rose-hued mask in shaking hands as a night filled with the soft glow of string lights, violins, and the whisper of twirling gowns crawled its way back into her head. She stroked the lacy trim, already yellowing at the edges, as the memory of each note grew stronger. 

"I'm glad to see you're smiling again."

Riza stiffened and whipped her head around. The habitually closed door swung wider on squeaky hinges. She sighed and slowly rose to her feet to shift her weight off her aching knees. 

"Oh, hello, Roy," she said while brushing the dust off her navy skirt, "I thought you left already."

Her father's former apprentice sighed and shook his head, "In a few days."

He pushed aside a pile of disorganized notes to seat himself in the edge of the giant wooden desk that dominated the small study. 

"You haven't really been paying attention to much," he said as he scanned the carnage she'd caused, "It almost seems like you live in here now..."

"Well," replied Riza with a pained grin, "Like father, like daughter I guess..."

The words tasted bitter as she said them. Roy frowned. 

"Is that what made you smile?" he asked, gesturing to the worn pink mask still perched precariously on her fingertips. 

"Oh this?" she asked, her eyes downcast as she gently caressed it with her gaze, "Well, more so the night I wore it."

"Tell me about it, will you?" 

Without meeting his gaze, Riza shook her head, "It was nothing, really. Just a silly memory. It's not worth rambling about."

"But for a second, it made you happy," Roy insisted, "Tell me about it." 

"Goodness, are you persistent today!" she remarked as she let a playful smirk form on her lips, "You win! I'll tell you."

Roy leaned back against the study's faded blue wallpaper and nodded. 

"Well," she began, "this was a few years ago. I was maybe twelve... thirteen. Anyway, I had it in my head that I was going to attend the annual spring masquerade ball held in town. Of course, my father didn't want me to go. As you know, we tended to keep to ourselves, and didn't know many people..."

Roy felt a small shudder go through him as he watched the sadness invade Riza's expression. 

"What did wear?" he asked while in an attempt to divert the conversation, "Judging by that mask, it was probably absurdly pink."

"There's so need to make fun of me!" replied Riza with a unabashedly playful pout, "What twelve-year-old has good taste anyway?"

"Well?"

Riza crossed her arms and turned up her nose, causing her honey blonde bangs to fall wildly across her forehead. She giggled herself as she stared off into the past. 

"It was absurdly pink, AND shimmery," she said with a laugh, "I bought it myself too. I worked every odd job I could to afford it, just so my father didn't have a reason to say no. I fell in love the second I tried it on. It didn't even fit me that well. At the time, I kind of thought it made me look like a princess..."

Once dormant recognition flickered suddenly in Roy’s onyx eyes. Riza didn’t seem to notice the stern expression that settled upon the young alchemist’s face. 

“Ugh, the more I think about it, the worse it seems!” she continued. 

Roy shook his head and forced his lips to stretch back into his trademark smirk. 

“Did you go with anyone?” he asked coyly, one eyebrow raised. 

Riza felt her cheeks grow hot as she quickly made eye contact with the worn, wooden floor. Roy couldn’t help but chuckle. She was too easy to tease. 

“I’m sorry,” he admitted, “I hope you at least got to dance?”

Riza rolled her eyes, “Of course I did! I mean, I didn’t take lessons or anything like a lot of the other girls, but I knew all the group dances, and I taught myself a few steps so I wouldn’t make a complete fool of my myself…”

“I’m sure you did just fine,” Roy reassured her, “For someone with two left feet!”

“Enough!” chided Riza as she gave this shoulder a playful shove. 

“One must not resort to violence, Miss Hawkeye” replied Roy. 

“Says the one who decided to join the military, Mr. Mustang!” answered Riza while shaking her head, “To be honest, watching those who knew was they were doing was the best part! The older girls just seem to float through the town square, and with the masks, it looked like a fairy tale.” 

Roy couldn’t help but grin as he watched a dreamy veil invade her expression. 

“But did you dance with anyone?” 

“Goodness!” said Riza as she folded her arms across her chest, “I’m getting there! Be a bit patient, will you?”

“You’re not exactly the most engaging storyteller…”

The blond girl frowned, determined not let the young alchemist know she didn’t exactly mind his teasing. 

“Well,” she replied sharply, “you were the one who asked me to tell you about it in the first place.”

“True,” said Roy as he shifted his weight against the surface of the desk.

“For your information,” she began, “I DID dance with a boy. In fact, he came up and asked me right before the last dance began.”

“How did THAT go?” 

“Umm…” Riza ran her fingers through her cropped hair, “It… it was nice!”

Roy let a soft chuckle escape his lips. 

“It was!” she insisted, “Sure, some feet were stepped on, and without the masks were probably would’ve died of fright, but we held our own! At the end, he even told me my dress was pretty! I thanked him, gave him a quick peck, and ran home so I wouldn’t be late. It was a wonderful night!”

Roy suddenly straightened up, his eyes wild with curiosity. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” he said, “You KISSED him?!” 

Once again, Riza was quick to make eye contact with the floor. 

“I mean, I guess so,” she mumbled, “It was nothing, really.” 

“But you told me you’ve never kissed anyone!” 

Wildfire ferociously invaded Riza’s cheeks. 

“W-WHEN DID I TELL YOU THAT?!” she sputtered. 

“That… that doesn’t matter,” Roy insisted, hardly masking the boyish excitement in his voice, “What do you mean it didn’t count?”

Her cheeks still burning, Riza once again buried her right hand in short blond hair as she searched for her words. 

“I… I didn’t even know who he was,” she mumbled, “All I remember was that he was dark-haired, his mask looked like he found it on the ground after someone already stepped on, and he was wearing this god-awful blue floral shirt that was so wrinkled, it looked like he’d slept in it. I wouldn’t exactly call it the most graceful thing either, he was nearly a head taller than me. It’s a good thing I didn’t miss and knock out any of his teeth—“ 

“Riza.”

She froze as she glanced over to Roy. 

“Do you remember the day I came to be an apprentice to your father?” he asked. 

“Of course!” replied Riza, “It was the day after the masquerade party. I was actually allowed to sleep in for once since I got back so late.”

“What was the first thing you told me when you were help me unpack my things?” 

“Um… I—“ 

“That if your father taught me anything about flame alchemy…” he began. 

“That it would be how to incinerate that god-awful blue shirt…” finished Riza. 

Roy allowed himself a small smirk as she fit the pieces of the puzzle together. 

“Oh my god… So, it was YOU?!” gasped Riza, the redness returning to her cheeks with a vengeance, “When did you figure it out?!” 

Roy shrugged, “Pretty much the second you described your dress. I always kind of assumed it was you though.”

“But… but…” 

“My question is,” he continued, “How on earth could you say it didn’t count?! I wrote home about it, Riza. Guess how many of my friends thought that a first kiss, at a masquerade ball, with a girl wearing a princess dress as the final song finished was too good to be real?” 

“I don’t know…” mumbled Riza. 

Roy’s smirk widened as he folded his arms across his chest, “And I also have serious doubts as to what you think the definition of a ‘peck’ is.” 

“What do you mean?!”

“It was three seconds, Riza. That’s one long peck if you ask me.”

“YOU TIMED IT?!” 

“What was I supposed to do?” he asked. 

“I don’t know,” she replied bitterly, “Enjoy the moment, perhaps?”

“But you said it didn’t count—“ 

“Fine! It counts!” she said as she leaned towards him to give his shoulder a shove. 

Roy caught her caught her other wrist before she could touch him. Riza froze. 

“Roy?”

“It doesn’t have to count if you don’t want it to,” he assured her, his voice barely above a whisper. 

He reached down, gently pulling the tiny pink mask free from her other hand, and held it up until it was nearly at eye level between them. 

“However, I’m certain a couple of these things were the problem last time.” he said while turning it over in the dim light of the study. 

“Last time?” asked Riza, her lower lip trembling. 

Suddenly, he lowered the mask and pressed his lips against hers. 

“What… What was that?” Riza asked breathlessly after her pulled away. 

“It was nothing,” said Roy as he rose from the desk and made his way towards the door of the study, “Just a peck.” 

Riza shook her head, “You, idiot.”


End file.
